Sorry it took me so long to update, I had some stuff going on. Anyways, I thank you all for reading and reviewing and I hope you like this chapter! :D
Byakuya sat at the grand dining table early the next morning in time for breakfast. Lady Nomura wasn't awake yet, she insisted on sleeping in because 'women need there beauty sleep'.
Byakuya sighed wearily as he focused his eyes on the door. He was relived that he would be able to see Hisana today, he missed everything about her and lady Nomura was making him realize how much of a beautiful woman Hisana really is.
He drummed his fingers across the polished chocolate colored table and waited for her to arrive with his meal.
Sadly though he knew that he wouldn't be able to have his walks with her for a while. Since lady Nomura was here she was stuck to him like glue so he had to spend every waking moment with her except for early mornings.
He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at this, it seemed as though he hasn't spoken to her in ages.
The door slowly creaked open and Byakuya set his sight on the person that was walking into the room with a plate of food.
He raised a brow at the person because he was definitely not Hisana.
"Your breakfast lord Kuchiki" Sora announced as he placed the silver plate carefully on the table in front of him and bowed a long and respectful bow.
"You are not the one who usually brings me breakfast" Byakuya stated as his gray eyes examined the young man in front of him.
Sora could feel him begin to get nervous from lord Kuchiki's famous icy glare. Sora moved his sight to the floor and concentrated on the wooden panels beneath his feet.
"Hisana left and has been fired by the head maid herself" Sora informed him his eyes still making complete contact with the floor.
Byakuya processed this for a few moments. Hisana…left? Why would she do that? Surely it wasn't because he missed there last meeting; it must be something very important.
"Do you know where she went?" Byakuya asked as he closed his eyes and creased his forehead in deep concentration.
"S-She went to Rukongai, the Inuzuri district" Sora blurted out. Sora took a small deep breath and tried to compose himself.
It was so hard to talk about Hisana. It seemed as though every time he mentioned her name the pain of her words stung him again.
Byakuya nodded and then motioned with his hand for Sora to leave the room. Sora bowed once more and walked quickly out of the room.
'What would she be doing in Rukongai?....Inuzuri of all places is littered with crime and poverty, not a suitable place for a woman like Hisana' he thought to himself.
"Good morning Kuchiki" lady Nomura called as she entered the room breaking Byakuya's train of thought.
"Good morning Nomura" Byakuya replied while opening his eyes.
She sat in the chair next to him and ran her fingers through her loosened golden hair that hung to her back.
"So what is planned for today?" she asked as she began to pick some food off of his plate with her long slender fingers that were still painted red.
"That depends on what you would like to do" he responded apathetically.
She placed the piece bread she had taken from his plate into her mouth before standing up and moving towards the door.
"I would like to spend time in the garden" she answered before leaving the dining area and closing the door behind her.
Byakuya massaged his temples in hopes to get rid of the intense irritation lady Nomura gave him.
Slowly he got up from the table without even touching his food and made his way to the door.
"Hisana, what is going on" he mumbled quietly before leaving the dining area.
Hisana had finally reached Inuzuri by the next morning. Even though she was deathly hungry and tired she still pushed herself to make the journey.
Inuzuri had a nostalgic feeling to it since it is where she grew up of course. Hisana walked slowly across the dirt path while breathing steadily as well.
There weren't as many people out like before. Now only a few people roamed around but it was still enough people to fill the road.
The heat of the sun was intensifying as she moved from the cool shade that the nearby buildings gave her to the middle of the road where the sun was beating down on.
Hisana's stomach growled fiercely as she continued to walk down the path. She brought one hand to her stomach so she could hold it; she hoped some pressure would stop it from hurting.
With her other hand she wiped the sweat from her face and used it to block the sun from her vision.
Everything seemed to be getting more and more blurry by the second. Now all of the roaming people were just a bunch of mixed colors.
She shook her head trying to make her vision better but it didn't work, other than the colors she could only see the brightness of the sun.
She moved her hand from her stomach and wiped her eyes. This worked just al little bit, shapes were beginning to form out of the colors and this made it easier for her to walk without bumping into anyone.
Her stomach grumbled again this time causing her to wince in pain. She walked off the road and leaned against one of the buildings that were nearby.
The building was old and rundown. The wall she was leaning against was decaying and wasn't sturdy at all.
Normally she would have moved from that spot but the building had a small awning that provided a sufficient amount of shade for her.
She moved her hand to wipe her hair that was sticking to her forehead due to the sweat out of her face.
She breathed in and out over and over hoping that her stomach would stop hurting. Instead of her stomach stopping its violent rampage it decided to continue but far worse.
Hisana gasped in pain as it continued and she clutched her stomach with both hands this time.
The pain was unbearable; it hurt so badly it drove her to her knees. She continued breathing in and out slowly trying to make it subside.
'So this is how Rukia felt when she had no food huh' Hisana thought to herself as she clutched her stomach harder.
'I guess I deserve this' she continued to think to herself. She could feel her body sweating more and more as the pain increased.
"Hisana, are you okay?" an old gruff voice called from a distance.
"I-I know that voice" Hisana thought as she lifted her head slightly but the only thing she could see was a big blur of colors.
Soon everything started to spin and all the colors swirled together making it harder and harder for Hisana to focus.
She closed her eyes and continued to breathe but this time at a faster pace.
Hisana then suddenly felt a hand touch her shoulder. The voice was saying something to her but she couldn't make out the words, the only thing that she heard was her own cries of pain.
Soon enough the cries and the pain all came to a stop. Hisana felt her body grow limp and weak as darkness engulfed her body collapsed.
Hisana's eyes opened slowly as she scanned the area around her. Her eyes felt tired and they hurt as she forced them to examine her surroundings.
She was in a familiar setting, the wooden walls, small dim candle in the middle of the room on a rotten table.
She even recognized the smell of the place. It always seemed to smell like burning wood and smoke for some reason.
Even with all of this she still couldn't manage to put her finger on where she was.
She felt the hardness of the small bench she was laying on under her fingertips and she ran them across all of the creases in it.
Hisana tried to lift herself into a sitting position but when she tried to move a sharp pain stung her in her stomach.
She gave up after a few more tries and just continued to lie on the bench. She was still sweating but inside of the small building she was in it was a little cooler but still a bit stuffy.
Her vision was a lot better but her feet ached and throbbed. Hisana moved her eyes to look down at her feet and saw that they were bandaged, but the bandages were stained red.
She then noticed her bag of belongings that were lying in a small corner of the room. She was relived that it wasn't stolen.
"How are you feeling Hisana?" the old voice called again. Hisana looked to where the voice was and saw an old man walking towards her.
"Do you remember me?" he asked as he smiled a bright smile. He was missing a few teeth but it was a very warm and inviting smile.
He had no hair on his head but he had a thick white beard around his small mouth and chin.
His eyes were covered by a pair of old cracked glasses and he was tall and skinny.
"I-I think so" Hisana responded her voice a little hoarse. She knew she recognized him from some ware but she couldn't put her finger on it.
She thought for a few moments. She didn't want to tell him she forgot who he was because that would be rude, especially since he took her in.
"Oh, your Hibiki……you used to let me and Rukia stay in your home whenever we needed a place to stay……you gave us water and food as well" Hisana said smiling, she now remembered where she recognized him from.
"How nice of you to remember" Hibiki said as he placed one old wrinkled hand on her forehead.
"Hisana what are you doing here?" he asked curiously as he removed his hand from her forehead and used it to stroke his beard.
"Last time I saw you, you told me that you were getting a job in seireitei" Hibiki added while trying to hold back a cough.
"I heard that Rukia was seen so….so I came back to find her" Hisana explained.
"I see….well you must be starving" Hibiki said as he went past the rotten table to a basket that was lying on the floor.
He pulled out two pieces of bread and handed one to her.
"I can't take your food Hibiki you need it" Hisana replied while clearing her throat.
"Nonsense! You're starving" Hibiki insisted as he thrusted the piece of bread into her hands.
Hisana's stomach growled viciously as she smelled the sweet smell of the bread. She forced herself to sit up and brought the bread to her mouth.
Her stomach was killing her deeply but she didn't mind at the moment, the only thing that was on her mind was the food she was about to consume.
She took one small bit of the bread and chewed slowly. She knew that when you haven't eaten in a while small and slow bites were better than shoving the food down your mouth.
It had to be the best thing she could ever have at the moment. It wasn't the best piece of bead though, actually it was pretty stale but she since she was so hungry it tasted like heaven.
"How is your health Hibiki?" Hisana asked after she swallowed that piece of bread.
"Ha, this old man's time is coming…I can feel it" he said with his signature smile.
"Don't say such things Hibiki" Hisana said quickly as she looked at him worriedly.
"Oh Hisana its fine…..you see around these parts you can easily get sick, so many germs…..it's a surprise not everyone is sick" Hibiki chuckled softly.
Hisana continued to nibble at the piece of bread she held in her hands.
"I will still hold it against you that you didn't let Rukia stay with me" Hibiki said while taking a bite of his bread.
"I couldn't Hibiki……no offense but your age and health….I couldn't leave a child in your care" Hisana answered.
"Oh I know I know I'm just pulling your leg Hisana…..and speaking of Rukia do you mind explaining to me what's going on? I leave my house for a few minutes and I find you dying on the road" Hibiki said in a joking manor.
"I had to leave to come and see if it was true…..I need to find her and I need to find her now" Hisana explained.
"Now Hisana you had a stable job and living environment….you can't leave all of what you worked for because you heard such a rumor" Hibiki stated.
"I know but….I had no choice, I couldn't give up the chance of actually finding her" Hisana replied while taking another small bite of her bread.
"Hisana I will not say what you are doing is wrong but in your condition I do not think it is wise to continue" Hibiki said sternly.
"Condition?" Hisana questioned while eyeing him curiously.
He nodded towards her bandaged feet that were lying limp on the end of the bench.
"You were traveling so much without rest you caused your feet to bleed" Hibiki explained.
Hisana sighed. She knew it wouldn't be wise to travel with her feet in such a condition but she had to find her as soon as possible.
"Alright Hibiki….I will stay here until my feet are healed" Hisana lied but in a believable way.
"Alright, good" Hibiki said happily as he took another chunk out of his bread with his sturdy teeth, well the ones that were still left in his mouth.
Hisana smiled but she knew what she had to do. She would wait until it was nighttime and when Hibiki was sleeping to sneak out.
She wished she could wait until her feet were better but who knew how long that was going to take, Rukia was right around the corner and she couldn't miss her chance.
'Tonight I will find her…..tonight will be the day she comes home with me'.
That was a very long chapter…well at least to write lol, hope you enjoyed it :D